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Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs bats against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field on July 19, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON (CBS SPORTS) - Catcher Geovany Soto has been traded to the Texas Rangers for minor-league pitcher Jacob Brigham, CBS Sports reports. Soto left Monday night’s Chicago Cubs game hugging teammates as if to say goodbye, and it turns out he was.

Soto, 29, is hitting .199/.284/.347 with six homers and 14 RBI this season. He was the NL Rookie of the Year and an All-Star in 2008, when he hit .285/.364/.504 with 23 homers, 86 RBI and 35 doubles. He’s been up and down since, as he was bad in 2009, really good in 2010 and decent last season.

The Rangers aren’t really hurting for catchers, with Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba already on the roster. That being said, Napoli can serve as the designated hitter or play first base, so there’s some added flexibility — which is especially needed with Michael Young having such a bad season. This could also mean the end of the line for Torrealba with the Rangers.

Soto is still in his arbitration years and won’t be a free agent until after the 2013 season.